Freakin Weird Blog

July 22, 2005
Combine Demolition Derby

When I was a small boy, there was nothing I enjoyed more than sitting at the edge of a field full of golden grain while watching the mechanical magic of the combine harvester at work. I loved the heady days of harvest. I relished the fierce battle of Man vs. Wheat. And on reflection, that's probably why I never developed any noticeable social skills, and had no friends apart from Angie the Angelic Dragonfly who used to hang around one of the tractors.

But now I'm older there's no need to hide my farming fetish, so I'm thinking about greasing my wheels and sharpening my blade and then heading down to Lind, WA for the Combine Demolition Derby.

Every year hundreds of competitors bring their souped-up combines so that they can go head-to-head in the pressure-cooker atmosphere of the Lind Arena. The drivers are egged on by an eager crowd of onlookers, who obviously have nothing better to do on a beautiful summer's day than to watch rusting pieces of farm machinery collide with each other.

The drivers of these corroded corn cutters battle it out to become King of the Combines, without breaking the tough, no-nonsense rules of the competition. High speed ramming is not allowed, and poor sportsmanship could lead to disqualification. After all, it's everyone's worst nightmare to encounter a speeding combine with attitude.

When they're not locking rotary blades, the competitors also find time for other, less important activities. Like growing crops. And occasionally harvesting them.

Picture from here.

posted by Dr, Wei, PhD 13:03 E-MAIL THIS POST